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Written by:
Tom Jensen
10/05/2006 - 07:00 PM
Talladega, AL
Mark Martin announces his 2007 Nextel Cup plans with MB2 Motorsports. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) ยป More Photos
Mark Martin will leave Roush Racing, his home for nearly two decades, to drive in 22 NASCAR Nextel Cup races next season for MB2 Motorsports. Martin said Friday that he's signed a five-year deal with MB2, which initially asked him to drive full time, but agreed to a part-time, flexible schedule that Martin will put together.
In 2007, Martin will compete for MB2 in the two NASCAR non-points races, the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona in February and the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge at Charlotte in May. He will also race in 20 Cup points races of his own choosing.
Martin's pending departure from Roush, which was announced Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, is even more dramatic and surprising than Jarrett leaving Robert Yates Racing to join Michael Waltrip's Toyota team next year. Not only is Martin leaving Roush, his friend, mentor and employer since late 1987, he's jumping from a Ford team to a Chevrolet team.
On top of that, Martin has always insisted his high personal standards of competitiveness demanded that he be behind the wheel of a championship-caliber car, yet he's headed
The key to the deal, Martin said, was flexibility. MB2 tried to hire Martin full time, but he turned that down, one of four to five full-time deals he declined. "It happened fast," Martin said of the deal, which came together in the last two weeks. "In three days, we had all this stuff (worked out). It was like, 'Yeah, we can do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah.' About two or three days after that, we had paperwork. I just really had to make a hard decision about making a change."
In 2007, Martin will drive 22 races in the No. 01 MB2 Chevrolet, with sponsorship continuing from the U.S. Army. Rookie Regan Smith will drive the remaining 14 races in the car, and current driver Joe Nemechek will move to a new MB2 car, the No. 13, with sponsorship to be announced.
Jay Frye, MB2 Motorsports president, said the addition of Martin and a third car should help the team dramatically elevate its performance level after a disappointing 2006 season.
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